AWS is retiring my instance, now what? How to check on service events and keep a current VNS3 configuration snapshot

Check for any scheduled events with Amazon AWS. In your Amazon EC2 console, click Events to see a list of all resources and associated events. There should also be an area called Events in the EC2 Dashboard lower right side:

So you’ve got some scheduled retirement?

For EBS-backed VNS3 instances, simply stop and restart your instance yourself. This should help reduce unforeseen downtime. VNS3 version 3.5 and newer are EBS backed, and easier to update.For instance store-based VNS3 instances* you will have to create a new instance. Launch a replacement instance from the most recent VNS3 AMI, and simply import your VNS3 configuration snapshot into your replacement instance. That simple VNS3 snapshot includes migrate all the necessary data to convert the new instance to the exact configuration of the instance scheduled for retirement. You can terminate your old instance, or wait for it to be automatically terminated when it’s retired. Need help? We can guide you.Always have a VNS3 configuration snapshot on hand!In case something goes wrong with your underlying VM host, you will be able to quickly get back up to speed. Best practices are to always have a current VNS3 snapshot for all running instances. For a detailed step-by-step guide for taking a snapshot of your VNS3 configuration and uploading it to the new 3.5 version, click here.

Uploading a snapshot in the newer VNS3 versions is this easy: Upload > Submit.

VNS3:ms is a single management dashboard for VNS3 networks, and is ideal for customers managing more than one VNS3 instance in an environment. It provides a complete view of all of your virtual networks, including the underlying cloud network elements like Amazon VPCs or Azure VNets.

Instance retirement and instance reboots are great times to make sure your VNS3 versions are up to date. While you’re updating your instance, check that your VNS3 versions are up to date with at least the 3.5.2 LTS security updates. The latest VNS3 versions are all EBS-backed and are much easier to update in AWS.

*If your instance store-backed instance passes its retirement date, it’s terminated and you cannot recover the instance or any data that was stored on it. Regardless of the root device of your instance, the data on instance store volumes is lost when the instance is retired, even if they are attached to an EBS-backed instance.**If you have a maintenance reboot pending, our understanding is that this is an instance reboot, and you will not lose your VNS3 configuration.